


Give Me a Challenge

by Charlie_Michelle



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, High school relationship, Writing Challenges
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 01:39:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6780049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_Michelle/pseuds/Charlie_Michelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chapter One: Four ways to win her heart and the one way he knew he already had it. Rucas</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

-1- 

She loves compliments, she loves giving them she loves receiving them but most importantly she loves applying them. Riley Matthews loved being able to surprise someone with a compliment it was like her superpower and she was so great at it. She didn’t even have to know a person to surprise them with a compliment! She would tell a stranger how wonderful their outfit was, she would tell a classmate how great their art piece was in the hallway, but she just always had something nice to say. 

She was the counter to her partner in crime Maya Hart, who inadvertently had nothing nice to say. Not that she was mean, she just didn’t see the need to compliment every person that passed her by. She admired Riley for her optimism but she held on to the opinion that Riley was just naïve. Maya hadn’t realized just how perceptive Riley was until she started receiving complimentary text messages out of the blue or would get encouraging looks. 

Maya had been so focused on her life that she hadn’t noticed the immense compliment that Riley had left her. Riley had stepped back and given Lucas to Maya and Maya had taken it. She just took whatever Riley gave her and she hadn’t even realized it! Of course, by time she realized it she was facing sincere feelings for Huckleberry –there she goes again. She couldn’t find it in herself to stop, but she was also smart enough to realize how wrong it was. 

“Hey Lucas.” 

“Maya, what can I do for you?” 

Maya sat down across from Lucas, this was a lot for her to do, but the unopen text message visible on her screen solidified what she knew. “There was never a choice was there?” 

Lucas, stunned for a moment, tried to come up with something to say. “I’m really sorry Maya…” 

“Don’t be, I think we all knew it all along and just needed time to figure it out.” 

Lucas can see the hurt in her eyes though and goes to pat her hand, Maya turns hers over and they end up holding hands. It’s brief and before he knows what’s happening Maya’s reading a message off of her phone and she’s only two words in and he knows exactly who it is. “She sends me those too.” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she sent them to everyone in her contact list…” Lucas has a goofy grin on his face and Maya feels that her comment held some bite. “… but that’s what makes Riley so Riley.” 

Lucas lets Maya finish her recitation of Riley’s text to her before he voices what he’s been wondering. “So is this why you called me? Or is there more?” 

“I know she won’t listen to you or me if we were to corner her and tell her how we both really feel.” Lucas nodded to acknowledge what Maya had said, he knew what she meant and he wasn’t about to argue. “Now, you and I both know she can’t resist a good compliment, see where I’m going with this?” 

“I think I do.” 

The next morning Riley woke up to a bombardment of text messages from Maya. They all had the same underlying meaning. They all said how great Riley was and how she was truly Maya’s best friend. There were messages about her whacky unique wardrobe and how inspiring she was. Riley figured Lucas and Maya must have finally hit it off –took them long enough, and although she had a twinge of sadness about her she was truly happy that Maya had realized something so great. 

She would have been content to call it a day, but then Farkle showed up and offered to walk with Riley to school. That wasn’t too abnormal, they walked together a lot, but he certainly had a lot to say about her. All good and wonderful things, nothing negative and she was floored. Farkle complimented her hair, her means to pay attention in class, her work ethic and how he admired her continuous attempts at improving herself. She was unsure and curious as to what had gotten into Farkle, she figured why Maya was suddenly chatty, but Farkle? 

Riley decided to let it go for the time being. She opened her locker and had a note pop out and she grabbed it. “I love the way you smell.” 

“Thanks Sunshine you smell pretty nice too.” 

Riley jumped and turned around to find Maya, alone, Maya was alone and Riley was confused. “Hey, sorry just reading this strange message that was left in my locker.” 

“Well at least they’re correct.” 

Riley just sent Maya a look; “Moving on, how’s Lucas?” 

“Wouldn’t know how Mr. Perfect is doing because I haven’t seen him yet.” 

Riley didn’t get a chance to ask why not because Maya had bounced away. Riley wondered what was going around in the air, maybe she had missed something, and she had missed a lot recently. She couldn’t bring herself to throw out the note –even if it wasn’t for her, instead she folded and placed it in her pocket grabbed her books and made her   
way to class. She was about to sit down when Maya placed her foot on her seat; “Sorry there’s something on your seat, oh look at this a note!” 

Riley reached for the note with a raised eyebrow and read it out loud. “You always know just what to say. What?” 

“Your communication skills are great, that’s good.” 

Riley turned towards Farkle; “Did you write this?” 

He denied it quickly with his hands in the air but Riley isn’t so sure she believes them. Maya looks far too pleased with herself and Farkle is definitely hiding something but Riley had no idea why or what it was. She almost completed expected Lucas to act strangely too, but was dismayed when he acted totally normal. She was getting ridiculous, she scolded herself during half of their lesson, because she should be excited that Lucas was the only one who acted normally. 

Riley spoke too soon when class had ended and was about to depart when Lucas grabbed her attention. “Hey Riles wait up!” 

“Hi…” She replied softly with a shy smile, she’d never get over his eyes looking into hers. 

“Hey, so I just wanted you to know that you look gorgeous today.” 

“You too!?” 

Lucas looked taken back; “Uh… thanks?” 

“No that’s not what I meant, I mean yes that’s what I mean you always look gorgeous, oh god.” Riley went to hide her face in her hands but Lucas stopped her before he could. “Everyone’s acting all weird today and I thought maybe you wouldn’t, but you did.” 

“Well we know how much you love compliments.” 

Riley’s eyes widen and Lucas looks proud. “Excuse me?” 

Lucas just shrugged and tugged her hands down swinging them lightly; “So, have I ever mentioned how great the color red looks on you?” 

-2- 

She loved sweets. She couldn’t fathom how someone simply couldn’t indulge in a piece of candy once in a while, some of her friends said she presented the signs of an addict. She wasn’t, she could stop whenever she wanted to. She just didn’t want to. She hummed happily to herself as she drove her hand into a bag of gummy bears, they were her favorite after all. 

Recently she had found herself craving them more and more often. When she was little she used to love them and whenever she was positive she was going to be told something not good she would beg for a bag. She remembered the day her father broke it to her that her beloved bunny rabbit had hopped away, she was handed the bag of gummy bears and sat down for a long talk on life. She was young then, but then she thought to herself, wasn’t she still young now? 

She tried not to start thinking deeply while she was enjoying her sugary snacks, she enjoyed the moments of bliss as she nibbled the heads off. She would never admit it to anyone else, however, earlier in the week she had bitten a gummy bear in half from the waist down. She wanted to see if it made her feel better to express her frustration on a poor   
defenseless gummy bear. It didn’t work, she felt awful and couldn’t finish the bag until later on that night. 

Things had been good, she supposed, Lucas and Maya had been acting weird since the day with the compliments but other than that things were good. Her grades were impressive and they were winding down to the end of the year. Maya would be going on a trip with Shawn to experiment with this concept of parental bonding. Riley didn’t mention that Maya had been bonding with the Matthews’ for literally forever. She was happy for her friend, it was exciting to see her life start to take a positive turn. 

Riley let out a happy sigh and bit into another bear, she pondered if sighing happily was possible and then squished the idea out of her mind. She was going to spend a relaxing day reading in bed with her favorite snack if it killed her. She had turned her phone off, she was going to turn it back on, but she didn’t need the constant message bombardment. She wasn’t getting negative messages currently –she wasn’t going to share that she still received some occasionally. She realized how silly it was to be upset over it, she had great friends that didn’t mind her weirdness. 

She knew she wouldn’t be able to hide it forever, she would have a bad day again and it could very well be soon. Farkle probably knew, he would know better than anyone in their group of friends of course. She thanked the greater good that he hadn’t opened his mouth about it yet, Farkle was one of her dearest friends but he outed her feelings and her life like it was his job. At least he’ll be traveling all summer, she sung in her head, no Farkle to put me on the spot and confront my issues. It was really the little things that made her happy. 

She lasted another thirty minutes or so before she turned on her phone again, almost immediately she received all the messages. Where are you? Hey, what’s up? What are you doing tonight? Answer me Princess Sunshine Happy Dance. She laughed, Maya knew she wasn’t planning on leaving the house today, she couldn’t possibly be that bored on such a beautiful Sunday afternoon. She replied back apologizing, she didn’t want to hurt Maya’s feelings and say she turned her phone off so she lied. She’ll confess it tomorrow when Maya climbs through the window for school. The intriguing part about the whole situation was that Maya hadn’t bothered to pop into the window. Normally that’s what she would have done. 

When her phone buzzed again she assumed it was Maya answering her, it was Lucas. Riley was surprised by the smile that broke out onto her face, she hadn’t had that reaction to Lucas in a long time. She remembered how good it felt to be able to smile about him freely and to talk about him with wonder and excitement. She hadn’t been able to do that to anyone and recently had found that her books have changed from classics to romantic novels. 

She lived in a fantasy world when she read them. She read his message again and replied, it was an instant reply back. Before she could form an answer he was calling her, someone was clearly impatient today, Riley thought. 

“Hello Lucas.” 

“Hey Riley, glad you answered.” 

“We were just texting, I literally had my phone in my hand, why wouldn’t I answer?” He could hear the laughter in her voice and his first instinct was to puff his chest out in pride.   
He made her do that, he made her do a lot of things she didn’t notice, but he did. He loved storing them for future references. 

“Enjoying your Sunday?” 

“I am actually, someone left my favorite snack on my bed and a new book for me to read.” 

“Really, that’s cool, any idea who left it?” 

Riley hadn’t thought about it much, she just assumed she had made the purchase of the snacks and book at some point during the week. Then of course she realized that she wouldn’t have left them on her bed, then she just came to the conclusion that it was her mom that had done the task. “Probably my mom.” 

Lucas grinned into his phone, not that Riley could see it; “How are things between you and your mom?” 

Riley let out a deep exhale and laughed a little; “Honestly? Not much better, she keeps trying to do things with me but I’m not interested. She doesn’t know why I’m upset but she’s hounded Maya about it.” 

“Have you just told her?” 

“It’s not that easy Lucas…” Riley paused a moment before she asked her next question. “My mom can be a little over dramatic at times and believe it or not so can I.” 

Lucas let out a hearty laugh and assured her that nothing she did was too dramatic. “Well, I’d love to talk some more but I promised my mom I’d help food shop. I hope you enjoy the novel, I wasn’t sure if you’d like the author but I figured I’d give it shot.” 

She had responded with a polite thank you and sent her wishes to his mother before they hung up. She was in high spirits when she opened her book back up and then stopped and replayed his words. He told her he wasn’t sure if she’d like the author, he mentioned that, could it be? She flipped to the last back cover and found an index card. That little sneak, she thought as she read the note. “Some tooth rotting fluff and some tooth rotting stuff, enjoy your weekend Princess.” 

Oh, she’d get him back. 

-3- 

Nobody knew she talked to the school guidance counselor every Tuesday at two in the afternoon. She would always come up with something and it always sounded important, but Farkle knew these things. He’d been a sneak, he was good at it, and he had followed her. He was familiar with the women and men that worked in the office, hey everyone had to be at some point. He waited a whole forty-five minutes before she reemerged and thanked the woman who walked her out. He knew her too, she was the school therapist.   
He had talked to her a couple times when he was being tested for Asperger’s. He wondered what Riley was doing in there, he figured he shouldn’t pry, but she’d never turn the other way and she’d pry too. So he followed her into the main lobby of the hallway before he tried to get her attention. “Hey Riles!” 

“Oh, hey Farkle!” She smiled brightly at him as she turned around, it seemed that for the first time Farkle was really seeing how not sincere her smile was. “What are you doing here? After school? On a random Tuesday?” 

“Could ask you the same thing…” Farkle held his hands out before him, he always did that when someone said something contradictory. “I was meeting with Mr. Davis, we were discussing my honors program for high school.” 

“That’s great Farkle!” Riley always had such real enthusiasm whenever she congratulated someone. Farkle found it to be incredibly charming, until today. 

“So what are you staying after for?” 

“I was just talking with Mrs. Jons in the attendance office, did you know she has two dogs?” 

“Nice try Riley, Mrs. Jons leaves before two, and I saw you.” 

Farkle didn’t want to just attack Riley, he had completely thrown her under the bus on New Year’s. Sure he felt guilty about it, but he had to do something. Riley shouldn’t be someone who suffers in silence. He felt just as strongly about this as he did about New Year’s. “You can talk to me…” 

“I know I can Farkle, but I think this time I better keep this to myself.” 

That was how it went, so when the next week came along Farkle dragged Lucas with him. He almost second guessed the having Lucas attend, but bringing Maya wasn’t an option. Maya wouldn’t have kept her cool, nor would she have backed off when Riley appeared. Lucas took a couple deep breaths then turned to Farkle. “I don’t get it.” 

“What don’t you get? That she’s seeing the counselor…” 

Lucas shook his head and sighed with frustration; “No I get that, I don’t get why, why doesn’t she just talk to us?” 

Farkle took a moment to consider an answer; “It’s possible that she’s talking about something we can’t help her with.” 

“Not possible.” Lucas disagreed almost immediately. “She’s Riley, she has ALWAYS been able to talk to us.” 

“Maybe she doesn’t think that she can about this.” 

“But why!?” Lucas was obviously becoming distressed but there wasn’t anything Farkle could do. It was true that Riley could always confide in them but it was entirely possible that she just didn’t want to. “Farkle, we have to talk to her or something.” 

Farkle thought about it for a moment before he stopped Lucas from continuing on. “I agree with you, but she clearly doesn’t believe she can confide in us with this. We need to go about this in a different way, something more tactic based.” 

A week later, against the wishes of Farkle, stood Lucas against the side of the door leading into counseling offices for the school. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, mostly because he didn’t see Riley walk in. He wasn’t going to walk away though, he just played with his phone and thought about what he was going to say. Then the door opened and out walked Mr. Davlin, he was another counselor for the school but he traveled between the middle school and high school. He remembered when he was introduced to him, he’s a crisis counselor he handles major situations. 

“Good afternoon Mr. Friar, anything I can help you with?” 

Lucas slid his phone into his pocket; “Uh, actually I’m waiting for someone.” 

Mr. Davlin hummed, Lucas got used to hearing the hum because another job Davlin had was to handle all of the assemblies that related to the topics of mental health. It was a new thing on the rise, Lucas thought, but maybe it wasn’t bad. “And who are you waiting for?” 

“Riley Matthews, I think she’s in there anyway.” 

“Well now Mr. Friar you know all of our visits are confidential.” Lucas knew that of course, at least Davlin had assumed that. “She should be finishing up shortly.” 

“She’s finished right now, thank you Mr. Davlin.” 

Lucas almost jumped when he heard Riley’s velvet voice interrupt them. She was in the process of pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly before she thanked Mr. Davlin for answering Lucas’ questions. When the counselor walked away he had a smile on his face, of course he didn’t know why Riley insisted on seeing one of his associates, but he was positive that if a young man like Lucas was involved –just like the rest of her friends, she’d be ok. 

“Hey. Again.” Riley looked at everything but his face when she greeted him. It bothered him but he figured this wasn’t going to be easy for her. “So, what are you doing here?” 

“Hey, again, will you look at me please?” He didn’t want to give her the opportunity to clam up and shy away from him. He wanted her to talk to him, he wanted her to realize he was serious and that he was there to listen. “Please, Riley?” 

She finally met his gaze and he noticed the tinge of distress in her gaze. “Sorry, yes you deserve that. What are you doing here Lucas?” 

“I’m here to wait for you.” 

It was the way he said it so plainly that she just couldn’t imagine. He was sincere and she didn’t doubt that he was serious, he was simply waiting for her. “How’d you find out about my sessions?” 

Lucas slid his hands into his pocket, then pulled them out again, he couldn’t figure out why he was nervous. “Farkle actually saw you walking out a couple weeks ago, he dragged me along last week and now here I am.” 

Riley took a second, because she really wasn’t sure what to say. Obviously Lucas had meant to talk to her, but was he going to lecture her on how she had friends to confide in? Wasn’t that what Lucas has done every other time? Isn’t that what Farkle and Maya do? To be blunt, she was amazed when Zay suggested she meet with the counseling department in their school. She was also amazed that he hadn’t told anyone about it. 

“Walk me home?” Lucas was caught off guard by that question, but nodded regardless. He wanted to demand something from her, but she seemed to be able to figure that out.   
Then again, he made it pretty obvious. So instead he nodded and offered his arm to her and when she gripped it she released the first bit of information. “I stay after every Tuesday to talk about coping skills.” 

“Coping with what?” 

Riley just smiled at him, it was a small delicate smile but it was genuine. “So quick to shoot the gun, just coping with stress. You know believe it or not I may be a good student but sometimes I still psych myself out over exams and projects. Then of course I’ve never had friend drama like I have this year and I thought maybe some outside help would be useful.” 

It would be impossible for Lucas to deny that he let out a long held breath of relief. His worry was that she was seeing this counselor because of a bully or because of something else. He didn’t even know what else there could be, but it just kept nagging at him. 

“So that’s it? You weren’t avoiding talking to your friends about something important?” 

“You all really need to let that go.” Riley had scrunched her face up when she responded back to Lucas’ statement. “But, no, I wasn’t avoiding anyone.” 

They’re making their way towards the subway and each are commenting on the things they’re seeing as well as some of the summer plans they’d like to execute before Lucas asks what’s been bothering him. They’re seated surrounded by at least a dozen strangers when he turns to her and takes her in. For the first time in months she has her Riley Matthews glow to her and her goofy grin that she keeps on her face at all times –or well did, is back in place. Her hair’s braided which shows him that she spent some more time on it than what he’s been seeing recently and she looks nice. 

“So if you weren’t avoiding us, or me, then why not just tell us what you were doing on Tuesdays?” 

“Well that’s obvious, I wanted to do this for myself by myself.” Riley instinctively reached for his hand as their stop approached and once they were out of the hustle and bustle of the crowd and back up on the street she continued explaining herself. “No offense, but sometimes having such great friends can be overbearing. I just wanted to work through this on my own, get my own advice.” 

Lucas was placated, surprised when she explained that it was Zay’s idea, but mostly annoyed that Zay hadn’t mentioned anything to him. “Some friend.” 

Riley chuckles when she hears Lucas grumble as they reach the entrance to her complex. They’re standing there with their hands linked swinging lightly back and forth and he looks to be thinking deeply, like he’s trying to form his next statement in a way that won’t offend her. She remembered what she talked about today, she has to take some form of initiative, and she has to stake her claim. She doesn’t like conflict and she knows it, but it was suggested that she start fighting back if she feels like she’s backed into a corner.   
Lucas felt the quick kiss against his cheek but before he could register it Riley was already leaning back and smiling. He could feel a blush creep its way up his cheek. “Why’d you do that?” 

Riley shrugged; “You’re very sweet for worrying about me. I know I can turn to you for anything because you’ll listen and you’ll understand.” He smiles wide at her, almost as if he needed to hear that, but she wanted to shock him just one more time. As she’s entering her building she turns around slightly and waves then proclaims, “Plus I like taking initiative.” 

-4- 

Summer has always been her favorite season, she just loves how drastically people change when the weather is nicer. Of course, the one thing she could go without is the muggy heat of the city and the bog that seems to rise every day. She’d have to admit, this summer has been actually kind of boring, and usually during the summer months she becomes this sort of prankster, just to keep all of her close-knit friends on their toes. This summer however she was mellowed out. That was until her Sunshine had texted her.   
Maya had spent almost every weekend with Shawn and while she has enjoyed the time with the new man in her life she’s missed her best friend Riley. Shawn explained after the third consecutive weekend what the deal was. “Riley needs to spend some quality time with her parents too.” 

“I know that, of course I know that, but I don’t know why that means I’m banned from the household on the weekends without her knowing why.” Maya was disgruntled when Shawn shared the news and decisions made by Topanga and Cory. They wanted to spend their weekends with Riley and Auggie alone, try to reconnect after this grueling teenage year. Maya understood, really she did, but she didn’t get it. 

“Look Maya, all your life you’ve been with the Matthews and that’s great, but at some point during that time Riley’s connection with Cory and Topanga sort of diminished.” Shawn had talked to Maya’s mother about this numerous times, hell he’d be there himself growing up, but now he needed to make sure Maya understood. “Riley is very different from how they were when they were growing up, they need to work some things out and no offense kid, when you’re there Riley’s a different type of person.” 

So it went, after that discussion with Shawn at Central Park with ice cream cones –what was she like five, she made her decision. She was going to let the Matthews family have their time and she was going to do the same with her mother as well. After all, that came with her acknowledging some of her hidden aggression towards Riley. The previous school year was whirlwind of drama and realization, but the biggest no brainer of all was Maya and Riley’s friendship. So Maya decided to try and better herself, to become her own person, to release this ideal image of Riley from her mind. 

That didn’t mean when her phone dinged to the special ringtone that was Riley’s she wouldn’t be super excited. It’s been like two weeks since she last seen her and like three days since they last talked. It was a record for them. She’s perplexed when she picks up the phone to read the message the only word was payback. She decides to stop wasting time and just call her. 

“Payback for who and what?” At first Maya’s worried that Riley did something else and meant something else, but that just isn’t Riley. 

“Lucas, I want payback on Lucas.” 

Maya smiled a little bit, it was just how she stated it that made her smile. She hasn’t been that blasé about Lucas in a long time, it was refreshing. “Ok, but I’m going to need to ask the obvious questions starting with; why?” 

“A while ago he left a book and a bag of candy on my bed.” 

“Did he not get you gummy bears?” Maya was angered by that thought, how dare the idiot not get her gummy bears! Everyone knew she loved those things. 

“No, he did.” Maya stopped her tirade, ok so maybe he wasn’t a complete idiot, but that left the question as to why she was so bent on payback. “Because Maya, I’m trying to put myself out there and if you aren’t going to date him I might as well put myself on his radar again.” 

Maya laughed, she laughed a good solid laugh with a snort and everything. “God Riles, it’s been forever since I’ve heard you talk like that.” 

“Sorry, was that too insensitive?” 

“Not at all, I’m glad to see you’re finally taking our hints.” Maya then has to spend five minutes discussing those hints and arguing with Riley. “Alright, back to the point, so what do you want to do?” 

Riley is contemplative, she texted Maya for advice but realized shortly after sending the text that she had no idea how to execute any form of prank or payback. “I’ve got literally no idea, I was hoping you’d help me.” 

“Of course I’ll help you, but just to clarify we’re not trying to scare him or start a prank war right? This is strictly flirtatious payback?” 

“Yes, exactly, I know your specialty is more hardcore but there’s always time to try new things.” 

Maya rolled her eyes at Riley’s comment, she always says that, as if Maya is bored by her pranks. Please, she could entertain herself for days with some of the plans she’s come up with. So together they talk and they plan and finally come up with something. 

It’s paltry at best and Maya is worried that Lucas isn’t going to get it, but there is no way in hell she’s letting Riley fail at this. She does what every best friend should do; “Hey Lucas? Yeah, listen up farm boy…” 

The day arrives, Lucas’ first day back from Texas and Maya’s first weekend sleepover at Riley’s in almost two months. The trap has been set and they’re waiting to hear from the Texan boy any minute now. Riley’s nervous and going on about how stupid this plan actually was, but Maya thinks it’s ingenious. Even more so since she clued Lucas in on it and he’s going to be acting like he has no idea. 

It’s not really a prank, Maya thought to herself while she watched Riley pace back forth, more so it’s a bold move on Riley’s end. It seems kind of childish, Riley snapchatting and posting on Instagram with one of Maya’s local cousins –he owed her a favor, just to get a rise out of Lucas. Maya however, thought it was pretty devious of Riley, a little weak but that can always be worked on. So they planted the evidence, man crush Monday and woman crush Wednesday for the last two weeks. People from school asking Maya and Riley –and subsequently Farkle who would receive these messages when he returns from Peru, demanding to know what happened. 

Lucas knew what was happening but he posts still bothered him. Clearly Riley’s little idea of getting a rise out of him was working and he was impressed. It was like seeing her with Charlie all over again, except this time she was actually making a public display and because this time was fake. He’s making his way up the fire escape to give his big act and takes a second. This could change their whole dynamic, he’s legitimately nervous and worried that she’ll change her mind. He knocks on the glass before he can pep talk himself.   
“Oh hey Lucas, I didn’t know you were back in town today.” Maya is using her Charlie voice, it irritates Lucas but he’s vastly amused that Riley never seemed to pick up on the sarcasm. “Gee, I bet you’re going to surprise Riley.” 

Riley is stiff and a little awkward, she knew he was coming her he had told her a week ago when he was coming home. “Yes I am truly surprised. How was Texas?”   
Lucas is amused and suddenly he sees what she’s trying to do. The book he bought her is next to her, she’s in her leggings and red flowy top that he likes on her and her hair is in a bouncy pony tail. She’s also eating out of a bag of gummy bears, he can’t resist the bait. “Did your new boyfriend buy you those?”   
From beside him he hears Maya hiss, “Stick with the script Huckleberry.” 

He ignores her and Riley doesn’t even notice, she just sends him a sly look. “The book no, the bag of gummy bears yes.” 

“Really, well I’d say your summer was far more eventful than mine.” 

It takes an immense amount of self-control to bite back what she wants to say. He spent his summer on his ranch, riding his favorite horse and tending to all the other animals. How could he possibly think her summer was more eventful? She read and had awkward family weekend trips. “Maybe it was…” 

Maya has her arms crossed and she’s looking between the two of them, clearly neither of them are remembering their lines and she determines if she ever becomes a director she will never cast these two. She coughs awkwardly and then excuses herself for a glass of water. They don’t even notice, how rude, she could actually be choking. She’s not of course, but she could be. 

Riley waits until Maya is down the hall before she looks at Lucas and drops her bombshell. “Thanks for playing along, I tried to be sly but Maya already filled you in on it huh?”   
Lucas just shrugs and then sits at the bay window, Riley instantly moves to sit next to him. “Yeah, she called me about two weeks ago with this plan.” 

“She’s not very good at being discrete and I guess neither am I.” She laughs a little but Lucas knows where this is going and he wants to put a stop to it. “You know, every time I think I know you and I know what you’re going to do you surprise me.” 

“This is a pleasant turn of the conversation.” 

She goes on like she hadn’t heard him; “I was going to leave something on your bed but Maya talked me out of breaking and entering. I had to agree once she brought up the price of a decent lawyer, but still you didn’t have to go along with this and you did.” 

Lucas shrugged and relaxed a little more; “Well yeah, Maya called and said how determine you were, I wanted to help you accomplish something.” 

Riley’s extending her hand for his and then she’s turning towards him. “I didn’t have to put myself on your radar did I?” 

“No, no you didn’t in fact you’re my entire radar.” Lucas is laughing lightly but he just can’t grasp the conversation they’re having right now. 

“Well that’s good, then it won’t be heartbreaking when I do this…” Her sentence is left hanging because she’s pressed her lips to his gently. He’s amazed at how soft her lips feel but the spark that went through him the very first time they kissed is striking his heart again. His free hand is coming up to rest at the back of her neck and although the kiss stays innocent enough for two young high schoolers they can’t stop kissing. 

When Maya comes back into the room she’s pleased to see Riley’s’ head on Lucas’ shoulder and they’re laughing. She makes her way over to the bay window, then changes her course and sits on the edge of the bed. The start of a new era, she thinks happily as she’s instantly included into their conversation. 

-5-

They’re two months into their freshman year of high school and everything’s fine. They’re at a football game and it’s starting to get chilly but Riley isn’t complaining because she has Lucas’ favorite hoody to keep her warm. Maya is trying her hardest to explain to Farkle what it is they’re participating in; “C’mon Farkle you’re not living your entire high school career behind the scenes, get into it!” 

In an interesting turn of events Smackle is the more coordinated one and she’s wearing the cheer uniform for the junior varsity team and Riley’s in the stands. No one is complaining, but Zay does think Riley should have tried out, in fact he moped about her not trying out for a whole two weeks. Riley just wants to focus on school and maybe discovering some new things along the way. 

Lucas and Riley had been dating for almost a month, yes even after the bay window and fiasco that was Riley trying to be spontaneous they still waited. Mostly on Lucas’ end, he wanted the classmates that made her doubt herself realize they were wrong and although his intention was sweet and chivalrous Riley was content to just walk into school on the first day hand in hand. Apparently Lucas liked big shows of affection and she promptly lost that battle. 

The kids in the stands were full of enthusiasm and Riley fed off of their energy, she was an avid basketball fan of course but she didn’t realize how much fun going to other sporting events could be. Football hit close to Lucas as well, how could it not he grew up in Texas, so their Friday date nights usually included the high school football game and food. Sure, people judged them because their date nights always had some stragglers, Maya for example, which didn’t help extinguish the fire that was still burning from last year. Missy Bradford had made it a point to mention Maya going on every date Riley and Lucas had and therefore that meant Lucas still had feelings for Maya and Riley was obviously the third wheel. 

It was a dramatic affair, for everyone else around them, but Riley for the first time ever was assertive in her position. She was confident in her relationship and nothing was going to bring her down. She would admit that the loss their football team had been dealt that night was a bummer, but she was content to have walked home hand in hand with Lucas. Without Maya. Riley loved her, but sometimes it was nice just being around Lucas by herself. 

“You seem pretty happy even though our high school just got kicked out of the playoffs.” 

Riley just smiled up at Lucas; “There’s always next year.” 

Lucas just chuckled as he pulled her tighter. They talked lightly as they made their way up to her apartment building Riley noticed the way that Lucas looked at her. He always looked at her that way, as Smackle will go in to say it’s the “Prince Eric look” (because Smackle had never seen The Little Mermaid to which Riley and Maya declared outrage). Riley felt special when he would look at her that way, but tonight it was unnerving. 

“You look like you’re about to say something that’s going to make me blush.” 

“Maybe I am or maybe I’m going to do this.” His lips are on hers before she can even form a question in her mind. She instantly melts into his arms and when they break apart she’s content to just lean on him and inhale his scent. “I love you.” 

“I love you too…” Riley meets his eyes and smirks. “… I’ve loved you since the first time you ran out of my fathers’ classroom with a look of pure terror on your face.” 

Lucas laughed hard and man oh man how Riley loved that she could cause that laugh. She disentangled herself from his arms and starts to make her way to her door. “So you’ve loved me pretty much from the start?” 

She looks over her shoulder and winks and doesn’t have to say anything for Lucas to know.


	2. Something to Feel Strongly About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second of the thirty challenges; something to feel strongly about. Josh Matthews character study!

Joshua Matthews felt things, he felt them fiercely and completely. He was passionate and was quick to react to what he felt. He used what he felt to manipulate his situations, gauged people's reactions and worked with possible responses. Joshua Matthews had mastered the art of compassion and facade all at once. He had been a ruthless child with stone cold glances and indifference to his surroundings and situations. His parents had already raised three children during their golden years, raising Josh was textbook, critical and well calculated. It reflected in their well composed and square shoulder son. 

He was the Matthews family pride and joy. He knew just what to say and when and he very rarely caused trouble. Until the day he met the ray of sunshine that would change his very existence forever. They named her Riley, she was as precious as she was tiny and loud as she was docile. She had captured the hearts of not just his parents, Morgan and Eric his two other siblings, but Cory and Topanga as well. The role models that Josh looked up, who he aimed to impress and strived to be. Years of perfect calculated responses and reactions couldn't measure up to the look of sheer pride and joy he saw on their faces when they introduced baby Riley Matthews. 

Suddenly, in Josh's childish mind, rage like nothing he's ever felt before unleashed itself. How dare this thing that cries a lot and smells all of the time take what he worked so hard for! How could this baby simply open her eyes and give a gummy smile and win over the entire family? He worked for it, he prepared himself for it and most of all he earned it. He couldn't explain the raw anger and jealousy that had suddenly appeared but he knew, he knew deep down that he felt it through his very being. 

It was the first time Joshua Matthews had actually wholeheartedly felt something other than contentment. Felt something other than obligation. In the future he had to thank Riley for she showed him how to feel. And Josh was a man that lived for feeling. He had stubbornly denied the girl, his parents scorned and scolded but they just couldn't understand Josh’s contempt towards his niece. His very own niece, as his father would say. 

Except, she wasn't just his. She was Eric's and Morgan's as well. Why should he feel anything for this pipsqueak? Why should he change how he felt? What good would it do? To the child Josh was at the time, his anger was completely acceptable and never seemed to waver. Then before he knew it almost two years had gone by and that strong feeling just hadn’t gone away. He had become more outspoken, opinionated and almost obnoxious. The pride and joy of the Matthews family had seem to revert back to an average boy. No longer exceptional with his cool demeanor but expressional and vibrant. Mr. Feeny had actually applauded Josh for his displays. 

Mr. Feeny had assured Josh’s parents that this reaction was normal. Josh had been the youngest of the family for his whole life! The change wasn’t what angered him, but the lack of attention, his parents had wanted to see the baby more wanted to praise the toddler for her great capabilities. He hadn’t meant to guilt the Matthews either, he simply stated fact, and fact was that Josh felt that he was no longer the most important younger person in their life. Naturally the only suitable solution was to make Josh realize how crucial his role was to little Riley. 

So it began, where Josh would spend every long weekend with his older brother Cory and it wasn’t horrible. It was actually fun! Josh found that he felt, really truly felt, connected to his big brother. He never truly felt that brotherly connection, he was after all just a baby compared to all of his other siblings, but suddenly Cory placed importance on him. They always did something just the two of them while he was there too and soon the forced visits had become something to really look forward to! His anger had started to recede eventually. It took many, many trips for Josh to finally admit defeat, but it was one particular trip that shed light onto Josh’s mistake. 

Riley had been three at the time and she was so incredibly adventurous and feared almost nothing that it was impossible for Josh to not help with the little girl. He had accepted that Riley was part of his family and that she deserved every opportunity to have time with Cory too, but he didn’t have to like it. She talked all the time, never stopped not even for a breath and all Josh wanted was to go find his brother and do something else. Cory was unfortunately nowhere to be found. Josh just wanted a second of silence and when he yelled at the three year old (that followed him everywhere) he hadn’t expected to actually get the peace he wanted. 

He also didn’t expect that wave of guilt and shame that pooled in his stomach. The big curious brown eyes that followed his every move and had such light had widened before they filled with tears. He watched as she just lowered her gaze and stuck her thumb in her mouth. He let out a sigh, a long childish sigh and turned around. He couldn’t shake the feeling though, it completely enveloped him and consumed him in just mere seconds. Did he really yell that loud? Could he have scared her? He reasoned that it couldn’t be that because Eric was always yelling and that didn’t seem to scare her at all. In his mind he couldn’t quite reason out what it was that made him feel so bad. 

He learned two things that day, the first being that three year olds move fast, much faster than he thought possible -she did trip every other step, how far could she have gotten? He had turned around to apologize, though he hated doing that too, and she was gone! He figured she was off playing with her imaginary friends but when he called out for her and she hadn’t answered he could feel the dread. With wide and scared eyes the boy searched high and low of his brothers living room for the girl before he had to move on to her room. She wasn’t there either! Josh started calling for Cory, he could imagine his brother becoming angry and dreaded the task of telling him that Riley had run away. 

He had barely gotten through his first bellow for his brother when he heard the tiny cry from the closet. Weren’t babies supposed to be afraid of closets? Thought Josh, but instead of working through the problem like his teacher had taught him he simply moved toward the door. She was on the floor with a purple blanket in her arm and her thumb in her mouth. She was crying and Josh couldn’t determine which feeling was stronger, the feeling of relief that he hadn’t lost Riley or the feeling of shame because he caused her to hurt that much. She kept her eyes squeezed tightly and didn’t move when he made room for himself on her closet floor. 

He pleaded with her to stop crying, promised her he’d let her use all of his favorite toys, and when nothing else worked demanded she stop or else he would start too. That was how Cory found them, huddled together sharing that purple blanket crying big fat juicy tears. He couldn’t figure out what happened or how it happened but he couldn’t get either of them to stop until they eventually just collapsed in exhaustion. At that point Cory just gave up and tucked them both into Riley’s bed, he could talk to his brother later and maybe get a coherent word out of Riley for once. Though he doubted the latter. 

Josh learned two things that day, the first being that three year olds moved fast. The second was that he didn’t like feeling so bad, he never wanted to have that queasy uneasy bad feeling in the pit of his stomach again. He especially never wanted to have that feeling with the knowledge that someone (Riley) would be feeling just as bad. He promised himself and Riley that day that he would never, ever hurt her again. If it was one thing Josh Matthews was sure of it was that he would not break his promise. 

And he hadn’t, even as he grew up in Philadelphia and her in New York. He always made sure to be part of her life, after all he was her uncle and she was his very own niece. Although she admitted during their last weekend sleepover that she saw him as a big brother and not as an uncle. Josh could get on board with that, uncle made him sound so distant and he vowed to be anything but distant with Riley. 

Soon enough he was meeting Riley’s dearest friend Maya Hart and suddenly he stopped being called just plain Josh and was called Uncle Boing. He couldn’t tell how he felt about it, relieved that Riley’s closest friend felt so comfortable with their family? Or nervous because Riley had started to change and not for the last time he reasoned with himself would she do that. He held such apprehension about her future, he worried that she was far too trusting, he got angry when he realized just how mean kids could be. What if Riley and Maya didn’t last? How could Uncle Boing fix that? 

That’s what Josh did, he felt and fixed things and people, but could he fix that? His worrying had ended up being for naught, Riley and Maya had done fine with preschool and they dominated kindergarten. Grade school had even been a breeze and before he knew it his long weekend visits stopped and skype calls started to take place. He had been looking into colleges and making memories that would last a lifetime with his own friends and Riley had become his niece. He hadn’t even realized the change in their relationship. 

That was until he visited on one occasion and had a confrontation with emotions and Maya. The girl had spunk, but he could tell she had no idea what it was she was really feeling. He also knew that their future in high school was coming up and crushes often times went away. For the first time he felt out of place in Cory’s home, hell he even stopped considering his brothers place as Riley’s and started addressing it properly. He had grown up, at least to that point, and his future was wide open with endless possibility. He couldn’t figure out how he could be so confident in his future success and still so afraid of the future, so afraid that sometimes he could barely eat let alone breathe. 

The night he had found out he would be attending NYU he found himself at Riley’s bay window. Her head was on his shoulder and his arm around her and he almost laughed at   
the fact that Riley was trying to comfort him. To reassure him that he could do it, whatever it was he wanted to do, he could do it. He just hugged her tighter and assured her the same, he never wanted her to be so unsure, so confused and scared. He told her all of his worries about college and assured her that he’d be alright because the most important thing was that he had family right there. She smiled big and wide up at him. 

That was it, he thought to himself, that was the last real Riley Matthews smile he saw. He couldn’t even pinpoint the change in his niece. “Damn…” he muttered to himself. He had just ended one of their scheduled skype calls and although he wanted to ask he couldn’t bring himself to call her out on her fake enthusiasm. She tried so hard to hide it, but Josh was the master of feelings and expressions and nothing she could do could hide how she really felt. 

Something was obviously wrong, he scratched at the nape of his neck as he pondered the possibilities. Weeks prior she had been so excited about her high school adventure, at least she seemed excited and now that he looked back on it was she really excited? He had been swamped with the last bit of finals and hadn’t really paid attention. “Damn.” He grunted out again as he scrubbed his hands down his face. He couldn’t stop the feeling from overwhelming him, couldn’t prevent it, but the same shame and dread that filled his very being the first (and only) time he made her cry bombarded him.

He felt like a failure, he wanted to laugh at himself in pity, he promised to always be there for her. He swore nothing would become more important than Riley, not school, not a girl, nothing. Yet there he sat, on a cool autumn night, with school work piled high in front of him that demanded his attention and Riley across town pretending to be happy. Pretending could be dangerous, especially to someone as fragile as Riley. No, fragile wasn’t the right word, he couldn’t call her fragile she was anything but. She was vulnerable though and he didn’t like that vulnerability could cause a slew of problems. He couldn’t ignore the school work entirely, but he couldn’t ignore Riley, so he did the next best thing.   
With his phone against his ear he waited two rings before the familiar warm voice of his brother answered. “Josh, good to hear from you.” 

“You too Cory, I just called because I had a question.” 

“Ok, what is it?” 

“It’s about Riley, just wondering if she was doing alright.” 

Cory took an additional moment before he answered; “She’s alright Josh, she’s growing up and changing.” 

Josh didn’t like the answer, he felt a sudden pang of anger towards his brother but covered his clipped tone with a forced cough. “Good, good. She’s gotta’ grow up sometime right Cory?” 

“No! She never has to grow up, never.” 

Josh rolled his eyes, not that his brother could see it, “Well I was just calling to check in, she just seemed off on our skype call figured I’d ask the parental figure.” 

Cory smiled, not that his brother could see, “You’re a good uncle Josh and Topanga and I appreciate everything you’ve done for Riley.” 

Josh ignored the sappy tone in his brothers mellow voice, he instead changed the subject and they discussed future plans. Would Josh be joining them for Thanksgiving? 

Absolutely! Would Josh join them for his winter break? Most of it yes, anything beyond that was up in the air. Josh asked how Auggie was doing, asked how Topanga was holding up and if they had heard from Morgan or Eric. They talked sports and then it slipped. Josh wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, but before he could really stop the conversation Cory was asking if he could lay something on him and Josh couldn’t say no.

“There’s a triangle.” 

“Okay…” Josh began softly, because sometimes his brother liked to share random words and broken phrases that made no sense to anyone. “So there’s a triangle.” 

“A triangle of people.” Cory could almost see the wheels that turned in his youngest brother’s head. “And along with the triangle of people comes the triangle of feelings.” 

“Oh.” Josh hadn’t really pieced anything together, not really, but he could see where it was going. “I take it that this triangle of people has enveloped Riley?” 

“Somehow along the line it became essentially about Riley.” Josh listened to his brother explain about Texas. He listened as Cory went into detail about Lucas and Maya. He listened as Cory talked about the yearbook and how flat out mean students could be to other students. A bully! For Christ’s sake a bully had picked on Riley and Josh had just found out? He had determined there were going to be words, strong and heavily emphasized words with his niece. 

“So what do you think?” 

“I think that this is a mess Cory.” Josh put it simply, there was no other phrase around it. “Has Topanga tried talking with Riley?” 

“About that…” and then the litany continued. Josh couldn’t quite figure out how Topanga missed the warning signs. How did she figure that her trying to make sure Maya knew she wasn’t alone that she had alienated her own daughter? There were so many questions and doubts that flowed through his mind he could barely grasp an understanding of what could have gone through Riley’s mind. “...so you see, we need you to help us on this trip.” 

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed heavily into the phone receiver; “You think going to this ski lodge is a great idea? That it won’t make anything worse?” he doesn’t wait for Cory to answer “Better yet, you think getting me involved is a great idea?” 

There’s a brief pause and Josh almost thinks he has Cory cornered, until his older brother softens his voice and soothes any concern right off of the young college students shoulder. “I happen to know how much Riley adores you and looks up to you. I happen to know how much you love her in return and Topanga and I really let her down in this situation…” 

“Nonsense; this is just new for you guys.” 

It’s Topanga’s voice that replies; “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but even we know when it’s misplaced. Riley -and her friends, need someone just old enough to be considered wise but close enough to their age to be considered an ally.” 

Josh rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I get that, but on a school trip?” 

“We can always work out those minor details later, but you’re in?” Josh found himself agreeing to his brothers eager question. He’d have to spend the next week on campus playing catch up if he was going to be spending a weekend away and out of focus. First though, he thought to himself, he’d call Riley. And call Riley he did, once his brother and sister-in-law hung up the phone, but to no avail. She was not answering.

Joshua Matthews was not to be deterred though, it was this infamous twist in his stomach that kept him calling and texting until she finally replied. She had been napping, napping was not something Riley Matthews did unless she was sick. And no she wasn’t sick, she assured him, she was just tired and Josh could hear the pure exhaustion in her voice. 

“Let’s grab dinner Riley, tonight on me.” 

He can almost see her come up with an excuse in her head, “I really wish I could bu-” 

Riley is cut off rather forcefully, “No buts, I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve hung out last.” 

And it has and she knows this, but the last time she hung out with her uncle Maya had gotten upset. Then again, Maya seems to be getting upset about a lot of things lately. Riley chooses to remain silent on the line, Josh takes that as an agreement and tells her to be ready by seven that evening. When Maya texts her and asks what Topanga is making for dinner Riley just answers. She figures she shouldn’t tell the blonde about her unplanned family bonding night. 

When Josh arrives at his brother's house at quarter to seven he has this feeling of dread wash over him. Like he’s about to the open the door and find something really wrong, but he doesn’t. Everything and everyone is absolutely fine… except Riley. She’s smiling and laughing about something Auggie is doing, but she’s not really there. Josh who prides himself on being in touch with his feelings can sense this unease around her. Like she’s just waiting to burst. And he doesn’t like it. 

They eat dinner at their favorite pizza parlor down some side street of the city. They call it their secret spot, because it’s the only secret she’s kept from her friends and he’s kept from his. Things could almost pass for normal but Josh can see right through his brunette niece, he sees very similar expressions and covers that he gave at the very beginning of his college career. He recognizes that what Riley may be going through at such a young age is what he just tackled and had to work his way through in college. “How ya doing there RIley?” 

She just chews her pizza and smiles; “The pizza is the best as always!” 

He nods along and she seems relieved. He is overwhelmed with anger by the notion that people settle for this kind of response from her all the time. He imagines her friends asking her and her response being so fake and half-assed, but they continue on anyway. He imagines Maya Hart doing this and he sees red. How could they not see? How come he can? Regardless he sets out to talk to Maya at some point before this trip as well and maybe Lucas as well. For now though he’ll focus on Riley. 

“How are you Uncle Josh?” 

“I’m doing great, school is kicking my butt, work-study has been busy, but it’s all going to be worth it.” She smiles softly and agrees and he sees this as the perfect opportunity to get more out of her. “Yeah, it’s weird actually, like suddenly all my struggles make sense. Just by knowing that everything I’m going through now is going to help me in the long run, thank goodness because if I couldn’t see that I wouldn’t put myself through it.” 

They laugh and then she gets quiet; “What if… what if you weren’t sure it was going to all work out? What if that was unknown, would you still push through?” 

Bingo, he silently cheers to himself. “That depends on what is I’m pushing through. It’s like, pushing through a wall to escape a burning building is only worth your effort if that wall leads you to fresh air.” 

“Where else could it lead you to?” 

“Another room, with another wall. You put all that effort into getting through that one wall, you’ll never have the energy to keep pushing.” 

Her eyes water and her lip quivers and Josh thinks this is real, this is actual emotion. This is a realm that Josh can relate to and understand, a realm that was tangible from his gut to his heart. Except this time he couldn’t pick apart grown up Riley from baby Riley that was crying in the corner of the closet. All at once Josh just feels the heartache and the stress that has been cycling Riley’s life. “Everything’s a mess Uncle Josh…” 

“I know Riley, but messes work themselves out.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Joshua Matthews was a man of many things; intellect and reason just to name two. There was one thing he especially prided himself on and that was his capability of understanding his emotions. He prided himself on his way of feeling things and expressing those. Sometimes he felt a little too much and it’d probably get him in trouble (like later on that night when he calls Lucas and Maya up and tears into them) and sometimes… “Yeah Riley, I’m sure.” 

Sometimes his feelings point him and those around him in the right direction like at the ski lodge, sitting down with everyone and watching his niece -best friend, truly smile.


End file.
